World News - Scalia blasts advocates of 'living Constitution’ Justice says those who believe in a more flexible document are ‘idiots’

People who believe the Constitution would break if it didn’t change with society are “idiots,” US Supreme Court Justice Scalia says. In a speech Mon sponsored by the conservative Federalist Society, Scalia defended his long-held belief in sticking to the plain text of the Constitution “as it was originally written & intended.” “Scalia does have a philosophy, it’s called originalism,” he said. “That’s what prevents him from doing the things he would like to do,” he told more than 100 politicians & lawyers from this US island territory. According to his judicial philosophy, he said, there can be no room for personal, political or religious beliefs. Scalia criticized those who believe in what he called the “living Constitution.” “That’s the argument of flexibility & it goes something like this: The Constitution is over 200 years old & societies change. It has to change with society, like a living organism, or it will become brittle & break.” “But you would have to be an idiot to believe that” ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com

A group of former senior Communist party officials in China have launched a scathing attack on the country's handling of the media and information. In an open letter, the group denounced the recent closure of investigative newspaper Bingdian (Freezing Point). They said strict censorship may "sow the seeds of disaster" for China's political transition. Among the signatories are an ex-aide to Mao Zedong, a former newspaper editor and a former party propaganda chief. "History demonstrates that only a totalitarian system needs news censorship, out of the delusion that it can keep the public locked in ignorance," the group said in the letter, according to Reuters news agency. The letter was signed on 2 February but publicly released on Tuesday. According to the BBC's Rupert Wingfield Hayes, in Beijing, this open outburst against China's media censors is all the more surprising because of who it comes from. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4712134.stm

The White House and Israel’s ambassador to the United States on Tuesday denied they had crafted a plan to topple the incoming, Hamas-led Palestinian government unless they renounced their violent ideology.The New York Times, citing U.S. and Israeli officials it did not identify, reported Tuesday that the United States and Israel were considering a campaign to starve the Palestinian Authority of cash so Palestinians would grow disillusioned with Hamas and bring down a Hamas government.In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, “There’s no plot.” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said he was “puzzled” by the report. “We are not having conversations with the Israelis that we are not having with others ... There is no plan, there is no plot,” he said....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11339817/from/RSS/

Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has told a Baghdad court that he and his seven co-accused are on hunger strike in protest at their treatment. "We have been on a hunger strike for three days," Saddam Hussein declared as he appeared in the courtroom. The session, which ran for about three hours, heard testimony from three former regime officials. The trial has been adjourned until 28 February. The defendants deny charges over the 1982 massacre of 148 people in Dujail. The first witness to take the stand was a former intelligence officer who testified from behind a curtain to protect his identity. Saddam Hussein's half-brother and co-defendant Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti cross-examined the witness briefly, then launched into a largely uninterrupted speech for almost 30 minutes, denying any connection to the massacre. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4711188.stm

For nine months, residents of this quiet farming town known for its annual grape festival and local wines have waited to learn whether it has been a home for terrorists. Authorities allege several people committed to al Qaeda have been operating in and around Lodi, a town of 62,000 just south of Sacramento. A father and son among five members of the region's Pakistani community arrested after a nearly three-year terrorism investigation were scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in the state capital. "Everyone was wondering, is there a terrorist cell?" Mayor Susan Hitchcock said. Two local imams and a son of one of the religious leaders have been deported to Pakistan on immigration violations, leaving prosecutors to focus on an ice cream vendor and his son. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/14/terror/main1314912.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=U.S._1314912

A Shia tribal leader and 10 members of his family were killed in a shooting north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, police have said. Sheikh Hussein Sarhan al-Hayali, who employed his son and nine others on his farm in Balad, were rounded up by unidentified gunmen and shot dead. Balad, a mainly Shia town, has been the scene of many insurgent attacks. In another incident, an Iraqi army major and his son were shot dead by insurgents in Taji, north of Baghdad. And in the northern city of Tikrit, an Iraqi contractor, who supplied food and water to the Iraqi army, was killed by gunmen. Sheikh Hayali's 15-year-old son, who suffered bullet wounds to his arms in the attack in Balad, said the men had been ambushed when they arrived at the farm to start work in the morning. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4713160.stm